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Recent natural disasters across Canada are marking emergency preparedness week with renewed importance.
The City of Saskatoon is using the week as an education tool for residents, advising them to have enough supplies on hand for 72 hours during storms and extended power outages.
“Unfortunately most of us wait for an emergency or an incident to happen before we plan for that event,” Eron McCormick, Saskatoon’s emergency measures co-ordinator, said.
McCormick recommends stocking non-perishable foods, a manual can opener, batteries and flashlights as basic items to deal with an extended period of being stuck in your home without electricity.
He also suggested residents register with the city’s “notify now” emergency system, which delivers text messages and emails with instructions in serious situations.
“That allows us to get ahold of those people and alert them possibly before the incident happens,” he said.
McCormick said some worry about registering because they think they’ll get a lot of needless notifications, but that’s not the case.
“We only send out two test notifications a year,” he said. “We really need more people to get involved.”
But most importantly, McCormick wants everyone to have a plan in case of disaster.
“You might have to leave the city and stay with family,” he said, pointing to the Fort McMurray wildfire as an example.
“If your family is prepared, your community may be prepared and then our city is stronger and more independent.”